Am I Okay?
by Catwomen
Summary: Some bad things have happened to Inuyasha, but he's always had Kagome there for him. When something really bad happens to him, will Kagome be able to get to the bottom of the whole ordeal? Or will it turn out to run much deeper than she ever thought. Slig
1. Frozen in Time

A/N- This is what I like to call my free time story. I'm writing this at school in seventh period when I have a lot of free time (which I quite often do). I can't promise you it'll be the best, but I think it is decent.

Disclaimer-I don't own Inuyasha, the amazing Rumiko Takahashi does. If I did…..well….chaos….evil grin

Warnings-This deals with some controversial issues….sort of. And some of the characters are a little OOC, especially Sesshomaru. I'll be the first to admit it. So if you put that in your review I may have to laugh at you….a lot. Because I warned you and you need to point it out to me? Can you say fired?

Am I okay?

Chapter 1- Lied?

His eyelids slid open slowly, ever so slowly. Reaching up his hand, he groped for something to hold onto. How did he get himself into this mess, into all this…pain? This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out. He was not meant to fall into this….trap. Could he even call it that? Was that was it was from the beginning, just some ploy to humiliate him and hurt him? Hurt him in more ways than just physically and emotionally? He didn't want to believe it, but the groups jeers all pointed to the fact that it had to be true. Their voices rang loudly in his head, calling him names and pointing out what should have been obvious. 'You thought she was actually around you because she _liked_ you?'

'Baka! She would never lower herself to the level of associating with a hanyou by choice!' 'She did it to help us get to you, get you to trust her so we could take you down.' He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the memories. It couldn't be true, she wouldn't have done that. Or would she? Did he even really know her? He felt his heart break as realization finally took hold. He pulled his legs up to his chest, trying to keep in what little body heat he had left as the snow continues to fall on his battered body. 'Maybe if I'm out here long enough, I'll just die.' He let out a weak laugh that barely reached even his ears. 'Look at me, I'm right back to where I started: Suicidal and all alone.' His thoughts drifted back to the past and he felt his own tears freeze on his cheeks. If only he had listened to her. If only he had done what he knew deep down was right. If only…..

Kagome Higurashi knew something was wrong when nine o'clock rolled around and her very best friend, Inuyasha Takahashi, had not called her yet. Not to mention, she had a forewarning feeling in the pit of her stomach, she had since that morning. Kagome had known Inuyasha pretty much her whole life. She'd been there when his parents died, when he ran away from his foster home and lived on the streets for two and half years because the police wanted to take him back and the family was so horrid to him, even when he had to be rushed to the hospital-a homeless teen near death-because he had felt life was just too hard and he was to weak. Her best friend had gone through a lot. His older brother had gone missing for three and a half years, a period of time when all the police thought he was dead. Inuyasha had been abused, neglected, and shunned because of what he was, what Kagome loved most about him. You see, Inuyasha was a hanyou. Sei Takahashi had been a very noble inu youkai and everyone knew it. His first son had been born due to an arranged marriage and he and his first wife both decided it just wasn't working and it'd be best for their only child if she left. So, Sei raised his little boy, Sesshomaru, by himself in his large house on one of the Ryukyu Islands. On Sesshomaru's fifth birthday, Sei took him to Tokyo and that's where he first laid eyes on his love. She was a mortal working at one of the Takahashi businesses, Sakura. They got to talking and both quickly fell in love, and they weren't the only ones. Setsuki (which was the women's name) fell in love immediately with the younger of the two as Sesshomaru shyly introduced himself and timidly shared some of his interests. Exactly six months after they met, Sei and Setsuki were married and relocated to Sapporo. There they began a family and Inuyasha was born shortly after. Seems like a fairy tale but so very far from it. Setsuki knew the Higurashi's from her long time friendship with Kagome's father. While Sesshomaru cared more for being inside and occasionally going out to play, Inuyasha and Kagome became very good friends. Because Inuyasha was a hanyou, he was tormented at school and a lot of the time Sesshomaru and Kagome were protecting and defending him. Even when he got himself into stupid fist fights. Kagome smiled nostalgically at her memories before she was jumped out of her revere by the ringing of the telephone.

"Moshi moshi!" She greeted.

"Moshi moshi Kagome-chan. It's Sesshomaru, is Inuyasha over there?" the usually monotone voice was wavering slightly with anxiety. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows.

"Iie, is there something the matter?" she heard Sesshomaru curse under his breath.

"Hai, there may be. I haven't heard from him in a while and he always calls home if he's going to be out later. The last time something like this happened, well I'm sure you remember." Kagome didn't need Sesshomaru to go on any further to know what he was talking about. Six years ago when Kagome had been but fifteen and Inuyasha was still living on the streets, she knew he had gone through a period of self mutilation. He would take broken pieces of glass and tear at the skin of his arms and sometimes his legs. If the cut was really bad, he would pull pieces of string from clothing he found and would search for a needle. His only form of sterilization was a lighter. He regretted that more than anything in his life now, his arms covered in reminders of the past. On Kagome's fifteenth birthday, she got a phone call from Inuyasha. His voice had been weak and she had barely been able to hear him. He wished her a happy birthday and that by tomorrow, the letter would make sense. She hadn't understood but knew something was wrong. She quickly contacted her friend, Ayame who also knew Inuyasha well, and the two went searching for him. Because Ayame was a youkai, she was able to pick up on his scent quickly and found him near death in an alley. He had sliced open his arms so badly, they were afraid he wouldn't make it. Luckily, Ayame's close friend, Kouga, happened to drive by and was able to make an incredibly fast trip to the hospital. Inuyasha had actually died that night, but the doctors were able to revive him, not allowing a boy so young to loose his life. It was soon after that they found Sesshomaru and the brothers were united once again. When Sesshomaru had found out about the incident, he had cried for only the second time in his life. He had been heart broken to learn that he had not been there when his younger brother was in so much hurt. Kagome clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

"We can't always dwell on what Inuyasha has done wrong. He regrets that night so much now. You've seen how badly his arms are scared, like a constant reminder. Besides, he has no reason to be so depressed. I mean, he took his medication today, I saw him take all of his pills. We shouldn't be worried about him doing anything like that again." She tried to reassure, it didn't seem to be working.

"I want to believe he wouldn't do it again, but when he left so early this morning, before even I was up, and he still is not back yet. I'm just so scared Kagome, I'll admit it. You know very well that I'm not one to get scared easily and I'm terrified. I don't want to loose my baby brother, I can't." Kagome had never heard Sesshomaru talk to affectionately about his brother, even when his parents were alive. It really worried her, even if she was trying to stay calm. Having Sesshomaru talking to her in a voice of a child that was scared of the dark did not reassure her.

"I'll check outside the dorms ok. I think he was going to see Kikyou later on today and maybe they just got caught up with whatever they were doing. I'll go see if he's anywhere around the campus and if not, I'll get Ayame and Kouga to help look for him." She heard Sesshomaru let out a breathe of relief and he seemed to relax.

"Arigoto, Kagome. I know you don't like Kikyou, and you're better for my brother anyways." It made Kagome's heart flutter slightly to know that the ever judgmental Sesshomaru thought her better than that….that….women. Shaking her head to rid it of negative thoughts, she said good-bye to Sesshomaru and stood up. Sighing, she grabbed her coat, scarf, gloves, and hat and slid on her snow shoes. 'The things I do for those Takahashi's, honestly' she thought to herself with a smile.

"Ayame! I'm going to look for Inuyasha, mkay? No one can find him." She yelled to her room mate. Ayame appeared out of her bedroom clad in a black camisole and red pajama pants, with Kouga following behind her, still dressed in his heavy sweatshirt he had come in.

"What do you mean no one can find him? I thought he and Kikyou had some sort of date thing planed today. Hasn't he called yet?" When saying Kikyou's name, Ayame had made a gagging noise in the back of her throat. Kagome smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Iie, he hasn't called and no one has seen him. Fluffy's really worried so I'm going to go look around campus. If I don't find him in about an hour, I'm calling back here and you two need to help me look for him." She answered.

"Can't we just call his cell?" Ayame asked confused.

"Inuyasha didn't take it this morning. I saw it on the kitchen table when I left." Kouga responded. 'Odd,' Kagome thought 'Inu-kun doesn't go anywhere with out it.' Shrugging her shoulders she headed towards the door.

"I'll call if anything happens, or in about an hour. Ja, mata ne?" she called as she left, shutting the heavy door behind her.

forty minutes later

Kagome shivered in the cold wind as she walked through the deep snow. She tried to keep herself warm by rubbing her hands up and down her arms but it wasn't helping. She was nearing the woods at the back part of the college campus, and still no sign of her best friend. She was really starting to worry now. Where was he? Shivering again, she thought she saw something up ahead in the snow. A black lump was just lying there near the God Tree. Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what is was and when she could finally make out the shape, her heart stopped.

"Inuyasha?" She whispered to herself before taking off as fast as she could through the snow. There was not mistaking those ears, no possible way. It was Inuyasha and he didn't look like he was moving. As she got closer, she noticed that some of the snow around him was red-blood. Fear struck her ever nerve as she finally came up next to him. He was curled up as if to preserve heat and his lips were blue. He didn't seem to be conscious but he shivered like crazy and his teeth were chattering. Kagome felt tears come to her eyes as she quickly pried his hands away from his knees and pulled his head into her lap. She threw off her coat and covered him with it, trying to give him any heat she could. She grabbed her cell phone and quickly called Ayame.

"Hai, Kagome, have you found him yet?" Ayame's chipper voice asked.

"Oh, Ayame! Call Sesshomaru and get an ambulance to the woods behind the cafeteria right now, Inuyasha's nearly frozen." Kagome cried desperately. Ayame gasped but quickly complied, hanging up on Kagome. Kagome hugged Inuyasha's frozen body to her own.

"Inuyasha please be alright. You can not die on me again." She sobbed. She felt him stir slightly and looked down to see his amber eyes opening slightly.

"Ka….Kagome?" he barely got the words out his teeth were chattering so badly.

"Hai, Inuyasha I'm here. An ambulance and your brother are on the way, just stay with me a little long ne?" He slightly nodded. Reaching up with one of his shaking clawed hands, he wiped away one of the tears from her cheek.

"I…I should have listened t…to...you." His voice was quiet and seemed strained. Kagome bit back a sob and brought his shivering body closer to hers. 'I have to be strong for him; I have to keep him alive so we can find out what happened.' She thought to herself. Something had got him. She didn't know what but she knew that it had not been himself who caused blood to stain the snow around him. She bit her lip and soon heard the sound of sirens blaring as the ambulances neared. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as a car pulled near her, its headlights hurting her eyes. Sesshomaru jumped from the car and ran over to them, engulfing them both.

"Oh gosh….Kagome is he dead?" He asked, shedding his coat and wrapping it around the girl who held his little brother so close to her own frail body. She shook her head and continued trying to keep the hanyou in her arms as warm as possible. The ambulances pulled up right next to them only a few minutes later, allowing only one person to ride with Inuyasha. Sesshomaru nearly pushed Kagome in, saying he had to drive his car, but she saw he wanted to. Refusing to get in, Sesshomaru literally lifted her in. She saw the workers covering Inuyasha with blankets and before they shut the doors, Sesshomaru gave her a reassuring smile, both worry and relief shinning in his amber eyes.

The ride to the hospital was chaos. The workers kept yelling at each other and putting more blankets on the hanyou. Kagome tried not to listen to them, Inuyasha really just looked like he was sleeping, aside from the blue lips and oxygen mask.

"Miss, will you please help up remove his shirt and jacket, they're much too wet and cold for him to stay in them." One of the workers said, addressing her. You'd think it would be a problem for her to take Inuyasha's shirt off of him, but it wasn't. She had seen him topless so many times before it didn't bother her at all. They'd known each other for such a long period of time, the two of them used to bathe together. She held the wet t-shirt and jacket in her arms as they continued to the hospital. 'Please be alright Yash.' She thought to herself, squeezing his hand tightly in her own 'Please, please be alright.'

A/N-well that was oodles of fun. Shorter than I would have liked but don't worry, I'll update soon. I hope at least, I can't promise you much. Although, if seventh period ever does start to pick up, I'll e-mail this to myself and work on it at home mkay? Fantastic! Hope you enjoyed, leave me oodles of comments! Ja mata ne?


	2. Am I really that awful?

A/N- Whee…okay, I'm not going to be able to write as much anymore because we're getting into more lengthy stuph…but I sure as heck will try. So here is chapter two…enjoy my little minions….I mean readers of course. :glances around:

Chapter 2-"I'm I that awful?"

Kagome refused to let go of his hand. The nurses told her to go home a million times, that she couldn't be in the room after visiting hours, but Kagome would no leave. Sesshomaru was also one to not be moved. He sat over in the corner next to the window and just stared back at his younger brother, some unknown hurt shinning in his eyes with anger flying all around the amber orbs. They were able to save Inuyasha's life once again, he hadn't been outside long enough to have anything terminal, but he did have a very bad fever and would be in the hospital another week at least.

It was past midnight, and Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes. Kagome gasped and gripped his hand tighter, new tears falling onto her cheeks. Sesshomaru shot up from his chair to come kneel at his brother's side. The hanyou looked at them both, his amber eyes darting back and forth, before closing them again and starting to cry. Kagome and Sesshomaru took one look at each other before tightly hugging the hanyou. Neither one of the Takahashi's were much for showing emotion, but Kagome wasn't too surprised. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had always had a strong, if not odd, relationship. The hanyou gripped them both and kept muttering.

"I should have listened. I really should have listened." Kagome didn't understand what he meant, but her sobs and tears continued to escalade.

The sun was peeking over the horizon and Kagome was just coming back from the cafeteria. She stopped in the doorway to see Sesshomaru sitting on Inuyasha's bed with Inuyasha leaning against him. Sesshomaru had one hand resting onto of his younger brother's head, right next to his white ears. They both had their eyes closed, but she had seen this scene enough to know that Sesshomaru was awake. She tiptoed over to the youkai and placed a cup of cocoa into the only had that was free.

"This is just like a flashback, do you remember Kagome? That night when Yasha-kun came home sobbing and our parents were not home?" Kagome nodded sadly. She remembered many of those types of days.

Flashback

It was two days before Halloween and Kagome was headed over to the Takahashi's house. She was so proud of herself, ten years old and she had finished all her homework in a snap. She had a little hop in her step as she walked up the long pathway to her best friend's house. She knew that Setsuki and Sei would be out tonight because that's what they did every Friday and that only Sesshomaru and Inuyasha would be home, meaning Sesshomaru would drive them to the pizza place in down town Tokyo. When they got there, he would order a large pepperoni pizza and a pitcher of lemonade. While waiting for their food, Inuyasha and Kagome would draw on paper while Sesshomaru would work on homework. They'd make hilarious comics that Sesshomaru would eventually have to edit due to the 'poor art work and petty humor' and he would always make it better. Once they ate their pizza they would take four slices back home (one for Setsuki and three for Sei) before picking out a movie and all three of them would sit on the couch and watch, with Kagome in the middle. That was when she felt the safest in the world. Sesshomaru on one side with his arm on the back of the couch and his other arm on the arm rest, his head cocked slightly to one side to lean on his arm as he watched the movie and muttered things under his breath, always criticizing. On the other side would be Inuyasha, he best friend and an amazing defender. He would always have his left leg under his body and his right leg hanging off the couch. His ears would twitch with every sound and if it was an action or horror movie, his amber eyes would get very wide and a lost look would come over his face. She would snuggle in between the two of them and by the end of the movie, would be fast asleep. Before Sesshomaru had gotten his license it had still been the same, only they would order pizza in because this was their 'ritual'. It had been happening since she could remember.

Reaching the large front door, Kagome sensed something was off. She never knocked, so pushing open the large door; she was met with the surprising sound of complete silence. Silence in the Takahashi manor was never good and Kagome worriedly bit her lip.

"Yash-kun? Maru-san? Where are you guys?" she called as she walked up the stairs. She noticed Sesshomaru's bedroom door slightly ajar and, though he hated people in his room, she took a risk by pushing it open just a little bit more. The site before her was not too uncommon, but it hadn't happened in a while. Sesshomaru was practically cradling his younger brother and she noted that Inuyasha seemed like he had been crying due to the tear streaks and the hiccupped breathing.

"M…Maru? What happened? Isn't Inuyasha supposed to be at his after school Martial arts club?" she asked softly, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Someone beat up on Inuyasha again after school. There were too many of them, you should see the busies. He started having an anxiety attack at school and the nurses wouldn't give him his meds because they said he was lying for attention so of course he had a bad attack and ran from school. He came straight home, crying because he couldn't breathe right and everyone was out to get him. So I gave him his pills and brought him up here with me, he's been like this for about an hour." Sesshomaru's voice was soft and light, but Kagome could almost feel the anger and hatred radiating from it.

"Is he going to be alright? Was his anxiety attack too bad?" Sesshomaru closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

"I don't know Kagome-chan. I think he should be fine physically but this has been happening too long. Those nurses _know_ that Inuyasha has terrible anxiety, that with the slightest amount of stress he could have an attack and still they refused to medicate him. He would _not_ lie to get attention like that and they know it. He was giving off all the signs of anxiety and it angers me that they would risk his life because of some stupid prejudice they have against 'what he is'." Kagome caught the angry tear that slide down her 'older brother's' pale face. She walked over to him and caught his large clawed hand in her small one.

"It's okay Maru-san; we'll make sure that Inuyasha will be okay. You could always just give him the pills to carry with him and if he starts having a really bad attack he can take them himself and then we won't have to worry about the mean old nurses. They aren't very good nurses anyway, they should get fired. I've been there before and they didn't help me much at all." Sesshomaru smiled slightly at the younger girls jabber.

"I'm going to go down stairs and set things up for tonight, we have to have our routine still and I know you want to anyways you obsessive compulsive youkai." She winked at him as she stood and he let another rare smile grace his features.

"Hai that I am. I'll send Inuyasha down as soon as he wakes up." Kagome nodded and left the room, anger seizing her as well.

End Flashback

"I don't know what happened to him but it must have been bad." Sesshomaru mused out loud as he continued to hold his brother in his arms. Kagome nodded and leaned forward, resting her head on Sesshomaru's lap. The youkai looked down at her and smiled a bittersweet smile.

"It's just like when we were younger, exactly the same." He looked back over to his brother, brushing his fingers against the white dog ears and causing them to flicker.

"He doesn't deserve any of this. Out of everybody in the world, he deserves it least of all. All he's done is tried to be good enough in his teacher's, peers, anyone's eyes and they harm him." Sesshomaru's voice was strained and Kagome could hear the emotional stress building.

"He doesn't deserve it, but Inuyasha is the strongest person I know for not giving up. I know he may have tried but, the doctors said that the reason he is alive is because he held on still. It was like he actually realized that he didn't want to die so he latched on to whatever little life he had left and refused to let go. Look at how far he's come, the people at the center adore him and he has helped so many young kids find their way back onto the right path. He's an amazing person and anyone who thinks otherwise, well it's their lose. We'll find out who did this to Inuyasha and this time, they're not getting away with it. You remember that Judge we met in Osaka? He said that if we can give him a good case, he'd send the next person to harass Inuyasha as bad as it had been happening to prison. We'll catch the people who did this, and then they'll regret ever messing with the Takahashi-Higurashi team." Sesshomaru smiled again and gently patted Kagome's head.

"You've helped our family so much, you know that don't you Kags? Father always used to call you our guardian angel. Mother always used to adore the time you were over. I'm sure they're both looking down right now and just as proud of you as if you were their own daughter. You've helped Inuyasha so much, it amazes me." Kagome grinned. It wasn't very often one got praise like that from Sesshomaru Takahashi. She lightly kissed his cheek in a sibling fashion.

"Arigoto, Maru-san. It means a lot, and I believe you whole heartedly. You're parents were amazing and I felt like a part of your family. I felt like I lost my own parents when they died. You've done an amazing job in raising him and I know that it means so much to him. When they thought you were dead as well, he was really worried but never gave up hope." She laughed a bit. "I even remember the time the police came and told him you were dead. He lifted his chin up and looked them in the eye saying 'My older brother Sesshomaru would never fall at the hands of someone below him. And in his eyes, that's everyone. You're idea's are stupid, why are _you_ police?' If only you could have seen their faces." Sesshomaru let out a small bark of laughter and shook his head.

"I believe it too. Inuyasha is…..something else." Kagome could see the affection in Sesshomaru's eyes as he said that and it tugged at her heart strings. Kagome knew Sesshomaru almost as well as she knew Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was reserved and liked to keep himself void of any unnecessary emotion. He liked to be seen as distant, cold, stoic, but he was never that way when it came to his family. She remembered him climbing up on his fathers lap so they could read together or Sesshomaru proudly puffing his chest and letting all the other children know how great his father was. That his father was the great Sei-sama, Inu Youkai lord of the western lands. She could still see him scrambling up onto the stool to help Setsuki make some sort of food and him always laughing and singing with his step mother. She remembered being awake one night late at their house and Sesshomaru coming into Inuyasha's room to kiss them each goodnight and whisper 'I'm always here to protect you both.' Yes, Kagome really was seen as one of the Takahashi's, and she liked it that way. Sesshomaru was a secretive youkai, and to see him so upset over his younger brother, to see the way he held Inuyasha, to hear the affection and care in his voice, made Kagome want to huggle him to little pieces. She saw the Takahashi's as more of her family than she did her own and that was probably due to her father passing away when she hardly knew him. Her parents fought a lot of the time and her mother was always very depressed. Setsuki tried hard to cheer up the woman, but nothing much worked. The only time Kagome really saw her father was the year she turned five. He had lost his old job and now spent time at home. Sota was born the following year and it almost seemed as if life was getting to be good. Until her father's company took him on again and he left them. He died in a plane accident only a few weeks later. Setsuki was over taking care of not only Sota, but Kagome's mother and grandfather as well. The Takahashi's help provide for them and Inuyasha and Sesshomaru never minded helping outside with yard work or with the shrine. The Higurashi's and Takahashi's acted as one family, with Sei and Setsuki leading them most of the way. That was probably what made their deaths so impacting. They left behind more than just their two young sons; they left an entire broken family.

Inuyasha's eyes moved quickly beneath their lids and Sesshomaru silently wondered what it was he was dreaming about. 'Hopefully not that no good woman, Kikyou.' He thought bitterly. He had never been too fond of her and was determined to make his brother see that Kagome was really the one for him. Still, what was troubling his young brother and what had he meant by 'I should have listened'?

The taunts, the jeers, the pain. It was all swirling in his head and clouding his vision. Where was Kagome? Where was Sesshomaru? Where was anybody? Why hadn't he listened? He felt a sharp pain in his side and turned. Kikyou stood there with an evil smirk on her face.

"Silly little half breed, why in the world would I dirty myself with you by choice? It was so much easier than I would have thought too. Thanks for the little fun, HALFBREED!" No, this could not be happening! Kikyou, he loved Kikyou. She was with him and he with her. She had stopped him from accidentally over dosing on his anxiety medication. She wouldn't intentionally hurt him would she? Her laugh, her face, it would just not go away.

"Stop it! Stop hurting me! Shut up shut up shut up!" he screamed. Why wouldn't it just go away? Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

Inuyasha was screaming in his sleep. Telling someone to shut up and it was scarring Sesshomaru. In a matter of minutes, Inuyasha shot awake and darted his eyes around the room. When they fell on Sesshomaru's, he complexly broke down in tears. Sesshomaru held him as closely as he could; silently hoping Kagome would be back soon.

"Maru, why hadn't I listened? Why'd she have to hurt me? Why did they have to hurt me? Am I really so awful?" His brother's words killed him inside and Sesshomaru himself succumbed to the rare show of emotion. Burying his face in his younger brother's hair and rubbing his now wet cheek against the fuzzy ear, he whispered.

"You're not awful, you're not. Don't say that because you're not. You're perfect, I promise. We'll catch who did this….oh, Yasha-kun, I was so scared." And the two brothers embraced long into the hours.

A/N-yay, chapter two is up! I'm trying really hard to get this up as quickly as possible but it's a little hard you know:nods: but here you go….


	3. The Nurse

A/N- _You know what I just realized?_How much of a pain you are? _I haven't been in the authors note for a while, I'm the muse…_ We enjoyed the rest from you silly. _You've silence me for too long you ungrateful parasite!_ Parasite! Let's talk about parasites shall we darling? _ Guys I'm pretty sure now is not the time, you have a story to write…idiots. _ Meh…..

Oh, by the way. This is a little call out to my darling friend Brenna because a) she is awesome and b) I'm using her Japanese name for one of the characters who will pretty much be based off of her anyhow. _I can't believe you…_ you know what…you shut your mouth because Brurna is super cool _can I at least finish?_ :thinks: hmm….IIE! _: . :_

Disclaimer-You know how it goes…..

Chapter 3- The Nurse

Sesshomaru didn't know how long he lay there with Inuyasha in his arms, the both of them sobbing and unloading all the problems of the past into every tear that fell, but by the end of it he was well worn. Inuyasha had fallen asleep, as expected, and Kagome had popped in just to say that her mother had another break down and she was needed at home but she would be back in the morning. So here he was, left to his thoughts again. He wished he could see into his brother's mind to find out what had happened, but alas that was not one of his powers. It got harder and harder to help out when Inuyasha didn't want people feeling sorry for him, wanted to do this on his own because he had 'failed' once before. 'Father, if you can hear me, help me with Inuyasha.' He silently asked his long since passed father. Just then there was a knock at the door meaning the nurse needed to come in and hook Inuyasha up with some other medication and machines. Sesshomaru did not like the nurse, she was a prejudice woman, he could tell. He was expecting the middle aged, graying nurse to walk in with a scowl on her face asking him why he was still here. What he was not expecting was for a young, black haired neko hanyou to push in a cart filled with different instruments and what looked like a dinner.

"Konban wa! I'm Noko and I am taking over for Hana. Seems Miss Higurashi didn't like the look Hana gave this patient, the same one she gives me." The new nurse said cheerfully. Sesshomaru didn't know what to say, not only was this girl _beautiful_ but she was a hanyou just like Inuyasha.

"I figured that after an attack on your brother like this, you wouldn't think much to eat. It's really best if you do, it'll keep you awake and cause you to be more controlled so you can be more solid for him when he wakes up for more than a couple hours." She placed a tray in front of him and removed the lid. There was a plate of ramen noodles, a bowl of rice, and a cup of warm milk.

"We in the kitchen cooked it just for you. Yes, I also work in the kitchens, and though you're not _really_ supposed to do that I figured I had a good excuse to. I've only ever met one other hanyou in my life. This is an exception, and you being his brother deserve a very nice treatment. It's not much, but it is better than what they try to feed their patients." She wrinkled her nose and he smiled. He was feeling better already and took a small bite. Immediately he felt his insides warm and a sort of calm over take him.

"While you eat, I might as well keep you updated." She started fiddling with Inuyasha's medication; trading this for that, turning that up higher or this down lower. "From what the police and yourself have told us, Inuyasha was attacked by an unknown source and left for dead in the snow. We've examined how his body looked-the coloration, temperature, touch- and broke it down to the fact that he was out there for about four to six hours. That's a pretty long time to be out in the snow bleeding, but we figured that the freezing temperatures kept the bleeding to a minimum because when we warmed him up the blood really poured. His injuries were; a cracked skull, concussion, four broken ribs, a split lip, fractured jaw, fractured wrist, some sort of impalement in his side, and multiple scratches and bruises." She was now examining his eyes, lifting the lids to peer at the whites. "Dr. Suzuki also says he has a sever case of ammonia and will be in the hospital for about four weeks. After that, he'll have to be on medication and perhaps be issued a body guard by the governor though I wouldn't count on that one. Governor Misimoto isn't exactly the friendliest guy to us hanyous. Inuyasha will have to be kept very warm at his home until we can ensure his health. Do not be surprised if he has fright mares or is very cold a lot of the time. You may think it's insanely hot but he will think it's still cold. Either that or the reverse of it where he will be dieing of heat and you will be an ice cube. Try to get somewhere in the middle so you both don't suffer too much. He also may have flash backs to what ever happened and may go into convulsions. If that is to happen, we are going to give you a slight injection to give him when you leave. A nurse will come check on him once every week for about six months, then once ever month for another six months. By then, the psychological and physical hinders should be mostly cleared up and if they are not, we have a line open twenty four seven so he can call for advice, a pep talk, or even immediate help at the home." She seemed chipper and bright, like a ray of light that they finally needed in this dreary room.

"Do you know who the nurse is that will come check up on him? I do not wish for another biased woman or man to be in charge of the well being of my brother." Sesshomaru asked, pausing his eating to speak. Noko tapped her chin thoughtfully for a second.

"Well, I'm not really sure but I know that if you've had a nurse so far that you really think is helping the patient, and you can of course ask Inuyasha what he thinks as well, you can request a specific nurse to come. They would also be the one that when Inuyasha called, they would talk to him or rush over there. That's the great thing about Dr. Suzuki-he cares so much all of his patients, he hires extra help so that nurses can go and do this sort of thing. He doesn't make as much as other Doctors because he pays so many more people, but he doesn't mind. That's what all the doctors here feel, that's why I love working here." She had a sort of nostalgic smile on her face as she finished taking Inuyasha's blood pressure.

"Well, things look great here. Don't be surprised if he wakes in a couple of hours. He's definitely doing better than he was when he first came here and it doesn't seem like he is having any nightmares at the moment. Call down to the kitchens when he wakes up and we'll bring him some _real_ food." She said with a wink. She piled the things back onto her cart and with a chipper good bye, walked out the door. Sesshomaru relaxed into the chair; this food really was better than any thing else he'd…attempted eating at the hospital. He glanced over at his brother again; the tubes sticking every which way out of his body. It still bothered him to not know what had happened to his younger brother but he was sure that whatever it was, they would get through it, just like they always did. From the time Sesshomaru could remember he and Inuyasha had dealt with some tough times and a lot of tough people. But the two brothers always ended up on top and for the most part unharmed. Not to mention the fact, they weren't alone. He knew how much Ayame and Kouga wanted to help, how much Sango and Miroku would care, how much Kaede, Rin, Kohaku, Souta, all of them would want to catch the people and watch them pay. And of course, there was Kagome who would never cease to amaze him. She was exactly what Inuyasha needed in his life and Sesshomaru knew that deep down, Inuyasha knew it.

A sudden calm started coming over the youkai and he sunk deeper into the chair. Inuyasha was going to be alright, everything would turn out okay, and there was no reason to worry about every small sound or smell. Closing his amber eyes, Sesshomaru remembered when he had first gone to see Inuyasha, the day little Inu-kun was born.

Flashback

"Daddy, are we really going to the hospital? Don't you have to be sick to go there?" six year old Sesshomaru Takahashi asked his father as they drove down the high way. His father smiled at him and shook his head.

"Usually Maru, but today is a special occasion. Ototosan was born really late last night." He said with pride in this voice.

"Ototo? You mean he's not inside Haha-ue any more?" Sesshomaru had stopped calling Setsuki by her name just months after she and his father were married. Sei smiled again and nodded. Sesshomaru still was confused.

"Well….how did he get out?" Sei's cheek's colored a bit and he didn't answer. Sesshomaru decided that his father didn't seem to like this question and dropped the subject. Just a few minutes later, they pulled into the hospital parking lot and Sei led them in through the doors. After a ride up the elevator to the sixth floor, walking down weird smelling hallways, and picking up some flowers and chocolates for Setsuki, the two

Inu-youkai entered her room. Sesshomaru gleefully hoped up on to her bed and gave her a huge hug as soon as he saw her.

"I missed you while you were gone Haha-ue! I thought I would _never_ get to see you again! Daddy doesn't cook half as good as you do and the cooks are all mean faced." Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose and Setsuki kissed it lovingly. Sei was standing over in the corner next to what looked like a little bed.

"Do you want to see your little brother, Maru?" he asked. Sesshomaru nodded and allowed his father to pick him up and hold him over the bed. Inside, wrapped up in a red blanket, a small child lay there. Thick white hair covered his head and forehead and small fuzzy ears poked out of the fluff. Sesshomaru smiled back at his father.

"That's Ototo isn't it! He's so kawaii!" He said excitedly. Sei smiled.

"His name is Inuyasha, Inuyasha Takahashi." Sesshomaru's smiled widened and he looked back at his little brother.

"Inu-kun, I'm going to protect you all the time. You'll never have to worry because you're part of the Takahashi-inu clan and we're pretty much the best. We might not have the same Haha-ue but that's okay, you're still my brother." Setsuki sniffled and Sesshomaru turned his head to her.

"Haha-ue? Why are you crying? Are you sad?" He wriggled free of his fathers hold and scampered over to her again, crawling up on her lap and hugging her again. Sei joined them, little Inuyasha now held in his arms with wide amber eyes looking out at the world.

"Iie, Maru-kun, I'm not sad. I'm just so happy. You're going to make the best big brother, I can already tell. Maru, you must understand that Inuyasha isn't going to have the easiest life. People aren't going to like him much." She started with a shaky voice. Sesshomaru looked at her quizzically.

"Why won't they like him much? What did he do wrong?" He asked his parents. Sei placed Inuyasha is Sesshomaru's arms, warning him to be careful, and watching as Setsuki helped him.

"Sesshomaru, you know Inuyasha and yourself do not have the same mother." Sesshomaru looked at him and nodded. "Well, you and I, we are youkai but Inuyasha is a hanyou because Setsuki is a human." Sesshomaru was still confused.

"What your father means is, people don't like hanyous very much especially when one of the hanyous parents are from what they call a 'pure' blood line like yours. A lot of people are going to try to hurt Inuyasha. We're going to need you to work extra hard to stop that from happening because people are going to respect you." Sesshomaru nodded in understanding and looked down at Inuyasha again who had a strand of his older brother's hair in his small hand.

"I promise to protect him, for you Haha-ue, and for Chichi-san, and especially Inuyasha. I promise."

End Flashback

He had kept his promise best he could but that didn't stop Inuyasha from getting hurt. They would all just have to work extra hard in order to truly keep him safe. With that thought in his mind, Sesshomaru slowly drifted off to sleep.

----Page Break----

Noko Katagurei walked into the kitchens with a hop in her step and humming a tune. She was having a pretty good day. Sawako Aseno hadn't only been able to walk for two hours today, but she also was able to paint some pictures, including the one that was held caringly in Noko's pocket. Masaru Kiwatochi, the fifteen year old who had attempted suicide, was responding to her now. Confiding in her and telling him why he did it. He was no longer fighting the medication they were giving him and he actually had a will to live. And then of course there was the Takahashi's. She felt a serious connection with the two brothers, especially the younger one for obvious reasons.

When Haruka saw her young coworker smiling like a fool she had a feeling she knew what it was about.

"Noko, what are you up to you mischievous neko?" Noko bit her lip and smiled.

"Oh Haruka, you always jump to conclusions. I am never mischievous." She grinned again and hopped up on the counter. Haruka laughed loudly and stirred the chicken alfrado that was bubbling in a large pot.

"I know you well enough to know that you aren't smiling like you've won the lottery for no reason, and there are only two explanations for it." Noko cocked her head to one side.

"Oh, and what would those me Miss Haruka?"

"Well, either you put something vile and disgusting in something of Hana, Kagura, or Hara's things." Noko laughed loudly at that one. "Or you found someone you find rather attractive." She smirked and Noko looked up towards the ceiling.

"Perhaps both of them would be correct. I had pretty much forgotten about that live squid though…." Haruka snickered.

"Who's the ever lucky, and highly attractive, man you neko?" Noko smiled a little and shrugged.

"It's not like anything is going to happen…but you know the Takahashi patient?" Haruka nodded. "Well his older brother is _so_ cute and really…I don't know there's just something about him that is extremely appealing. For one thing, he's not hateful towards hanyous, even though the Takahashi family is one of the most powerful and famous families. Their blood line will continue to be completely pure if the eldest brother marries an inu-youkai. I don't know Haru…he's just…something else. And you have no idea how much I want his brother to be alright. That was an intense beating he took, did you see?" Haruka nodded.

"Hai, it was very awful." Noko nodded her head again very quickly.

"Thankfully Dr. Suzuki said he should be alright but he has a long way to go and you know what I think?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that I'm going to have to act like the amazing person I am so that they will pick me to be the house nurse." Haruka shook her head and smiled.

"Why, so you can have more of an opportunity to catch that inu-youkai in you're neko claws?" She said with a wink. Noko laughed.

"Of course not Haru, I'd think you to know me better than that. I want to go because of the fact that Inuyasha is a hanyou. You know how long it's been since I actually met and talked to another hanyou! A very long time." Haruka laughed again.

"I believe you; I just don't think that is your only motive for wanting to go. Speaking of motive, where is Miyako?" Miyako was another worker in the kitchen and one who was usually the first there.

"I don't know it's out of character for her to be late. Her OCD wouldn't allow her to be less than on time. Has she been here at all today?" Noko answered, now a bit interested. Haruka shock her head and glanced towards the clock.

"I'm sure she'd alert us if anything is wrong….for right now, we have to start working on the meals for patients. A list of what they want is over by the phone, would you mind getting it for me?" Noko nodded and hopped off the counter, grabbing the paper, the two set to work.

----Page Break----

"Kouga, I am so worried about Inuyasha right now." Ayame said solemnly as the two sat on Ayame's couch watching reality show reruns. Kouga squeezed her reassuringly and kissed the top of her head.

"I know Ayame, I know. But for right now all we can do it pray he heals quickly. I trust Inuyasha will come out fine, we used to be the absolute worst enemies remember." Ayame giggled a bit behind her hand.

"Oh I definitely remember. I can't even count the number of times you two fought over Kagome, which further proves that he is in love with our little miko and not that emotionless psycho." Ayame said with a bit of bitterness in her voice. Kouga kissed her head again.

"I agree with you fully and I'm sure Inuyasha will realize this in time. Look at how long it took me to come around ne? But I did and that's what's important, when Inuyasha gets over this Kikyou chick Kagome is going to be there standing with open arms because she knows she loves him and is not afraid to wait. Just like you weren't afraid, but you actually made it very clear that we were going to date and I didn't really have a choice." Ayame laughed.

"Well, you had promised me and there was no way I would let you get over that promise." Kouga smiled affectionately and kissed her.

"Am I'm so glad you didn't. I'm also glad you never gave up on me, which causes my trust in Kagome to be even stronger." Ayame smiled up at him. Just then the door slammed open and their good friend Miyako burst through the door.

"Guys, you'll never believe what the police have found concerning your friend Inuyasha's case!"

A/N-Dun dun dun! Okay, so I sort of finally got some time to finish this. Sorry it took so long to get out, but Computer Applications class got a bit more difficult and I've been absent. . Sorry! But here it is and I'll get the next one out super soon. Ja mata ne!


End file.
